From a panic to TACO! Trump's 12 hours that shocked the world

Eastern Time, April 7, 2026, Tuesday, 8:06 a.m.

Trump posted a brief message on social media platform Truth Social: “Tonight, all of civilization will perish and can never be rebuilt.” He set a final deadline for Iran: either reach an agreement by 8 p.m. that night or face the consequences.

The post immediately triggered a chain reaction worldwide—from ordinary residents in Tehran, to trading floors on Wall Street, to urgent calls among European diplomats. This is the most dramatic brinkmanship since Trump took office. Additionally, The New York Times commented that Trump’s shocking threat to “destroy Iranian civilization,” with his usual casual coldness, has become his preferred way of communication. Such extreme rhetoric, even including war crimes that could be defined under international law, was casually posted on Truth Social, alongside ads for bullet-shaped pens, patriotic hats, and dinners at Mar-a-Lago.

Less than 90 minutes before his self-imposed deadline, Trump posted again, announcing a two-week suspension of bombing Iran. According to Xinhua News Agency, Trump wrote that evening: “I agree to suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks.”

From “all of civilization will perish” to “pause for two weeks,” only ten hours and twenty-six minutes elapsed.

However, this brief ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is less about resolving the crisis and more about temporarily shelving deeper conflicts. If no agreement is reached, Washington and Tehran may once again edge toward confrontation in two weeks. Media analysis states that the fundamental issues between the U.S. and Iran remain unresolved, one core sticking point being Iran’s increasing stockpile of enriched uranium.

One post, the world holds its breath

When Trump’s message appeared on screens, reactions worldwide almost simultaneously kicked off.

In Iran, many residents began preparing for blackouts and gas shortages. According to The Wall Street Journal, some dug out old camping stoves and refilled fuel tanks.

Less than 30 minutes after the post, citing Arab officials, the media reported that Iranian officials told Egypt that Tehran had cut off direct contact with U.S. negotiators. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also issued a warning: if the U.S. crosses the “red line,” Iran will “no longer restrain itself,” and has listed Saudi Aramco, the Yanbu oil facilities, and the UAE’s Fujairah oil pipeline as potential targets.

When former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert read this message, he was sheltering in his home bomb shelter as Israeli air raid sirens sounded, and he stated: “I tend not to take President Trump’s statement literally. I hope he means overthrowing the regime, not destroying Iranian civilization.”

Meanwhile, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine joined the daily video briefing with CENTCOM Commander Gen. Brad Cooper. Reportedly, military planners had already been preparing potential strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure, with target lists reviewed by military lawyers.

But the scope of these targets was far smaller than Trump’s post describing “every power plant in Iran will burn and explode.” Each target must meet legality requirements: clear links to Iranian military and security forces, and avoid excessive harm to civilians. Reports indicate that that night, U.S. forces struck over 50 targets on Kharg Island near the Strait of Hormuz, but did not bomb oil infrastructure.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said: “The entire Department of Defense follows the President’s orders and will resolutely carry out his military objectives.”

Wall Street: Watching the screen and Truth Social in tandem

For markets, this day had a unique rhythm—not driven by traditional battlefield news, but almost entirely by every social media post from Trump.

According to Wallstreetcn: over the past 12 hours, markets reacted sharply to every statement, tweet, or media report:

Pre-market, as the April 7 deadline approached at 8 p.m. ET, threatening rhetoric pushed oil prices up over 3%.

Early trading, news emerged that Iran was no longer communicating directly with the U.S. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks declined further at the open, with the Nasdaq 100 down 1.5%, and oil prices rose again.

Midday, U.S. media citing sources reported that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran had made some progress in the past 24 hours, causing oil prices to retreat.

Late trading, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shabaz requested Trump to delay the deadline by two weeks, causing major indices to narrow losses again, with the S&P and Nasdaq closing on a positive note.

After hours, Trump extended the deadline for Iran talks, claiming Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz. WTI crude futures fell further, while S&P futures and Dow futures rose to 1.7%.

Chief Investment Officer Peter Boockvar of asset management firm OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners described the feeling: “Dizzying. One eye on the market screen, the other on Trump’s Truth Social page.”

Meanwhile, Citigroup activated emergency protocols similar to those during presidential elections, pausing minor code updates on trading tools that could slow system performance.

Tech investors and corporate executives’ chat groups also exploded after Trump’s post. Former Trump advisor and current business consultant Bryan Lanza, still on vacation, received numerous inquiries from energy and finance clients. He urged calm, believing Trump would not truly carry out the threats.

Overall, Wall Street’s consensus, like many previous Trump-style deadlines, is to see this as a negotiation tactic rather than an imminent real action.

Supporters waver, allies rarely speak out

Pressure came not only from markets but also from within Trump’s political circle.

Reportedly, some White House officials privately felt uneasy about the President’s posts, believing his excessive focus on diplomacy was distracting from domestic issues that are key to winning public support.

On social media, over 2 million followers, online media personality Tim Pool said in an interview: “He’s trying to appear threatening and crazy.” He warned that if Trump fails to follow through, “we’ll see the emperor has no clothes… this will be his last gamble.”

Criticism from European allies was even more direct. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly stated: “A civilization cannot be erased.” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump’s closest European allies, also spoke out against: “It’s essential to distinguish the responsibility of a regime from the fate of millions of ordinary citizens. Iranian civilians cannot and should not pay for their leaders’ crimes.”

Pope Leo and actor Ben Stiller also called publicly for de-escalation.

Pakistan steps in, Trump responds

A diplomatic turn occurred in the afternoon.

According to The Wall Street Journal, just after 3 p.m. local time on April 7, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly called on Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks, promote a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, and urged Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a gesture of good faith. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded: “The President has been informed of the proposal and will respond.”

Trump later told Fox News that the U.S. was in “intense negotiations.”

Throughout the afternoon, Trump and his key aides held closed-door discussions in the Oval Office, weighing the pros and cons.

According to Xinhua, at 6:32 p.m. ET, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Under the condition that the Islamic Republic of Iran agrees to fully, immediately, and safely open the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks.”

Subsequently, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement confirming that political negotiations would take place in Islamabad for two weeks, and expressing Iran’s “complete distrust” of the U.S. side. Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif confirmed that both sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire at all locations and invited U.S. and Iranian delegations to further talks in Islamabad on April 10.

After the ceasefire: core issues remain unresolved

The New York Times cited analysts who said that this short-term ceasefire might be a tactical success of Trump’s maximum pressure strategy, but the fundamental disagreements from five weeks of conflict remain.

The list of issues is quite specific. Iran still holds about 970 pounds of 60% enriched uranium—one of the nominal triggers for this conflict. Reports indicate that if negotiations fail to move this uranium out of Iran, Trump will face a war costing “tens of billions of dollars daily,” with fewer results than Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal, which saw Iran export 97% of its nuclear stockpile.

Moreover, Iran has demonstrated the ability to sustain asymmetric warfare after over 13k precise strikes—blocking oil shipments and launching cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure.

Internal U.S. divisions also surfaced. Reports say some early Trump supporters have begun publicly criticizing the President and Vice President Vance for breaking their campaign promise to keep America out of Middle Eastern quagmires.

Two weeks later, when the ceasefire expires, whether substantive progress has been made remains uncertain. As Fontaine said: “It might work in the end. But it’s also possible that when this war ends, the U.S. and the world will be in a worse state than before.”

According to Xinhua, some U.S. officials have also expressed concern: if Iran cannot fully meet Trump’s demands, Washington and Tehran may once again edge toward confrontation in two weeks.

Ceasefire terms: Iran’s “Ten-Point Plan”

The ceasefire does not mean the disagreements are resolved; the real sticking points are in the negotiation terms.

According to Xinhua, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a ten-point ceasefire proposal submitted via Pakistan to the U.S., including:

• Controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s coordination, with Iran having dominant authority;

• Complete withdrawal of U.S. military forces from all bases and deployment points in the region;

• Lifting all primary and secondary sanctions against Iran, revoking relevant UN Security Council and IAEA resolutions;

• Unfreezing all Iranian assets abroad;

• Recognizing Iran’s right to uranium enrichment;

• Full compensation for war damages based on assessment;

• Ending all wars against “resistance axis” members and halting Israeli military operations.

According to CCTV News, an anonymous regional official also revealed that the ceasefire plan includes allowing Iran and Oman to collect transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran using the revenue for post-war reconstruction. This would be the first time this international waterway charges tolls.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be open for safe navigation within two weeks, but did not specify a reopening date. He emphasized that transit would be under the control of “Iranian armed forces.”

In response, Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, told The New York Times: “Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz, which was not the case before the war. I find it hard to believe the U.S. and the international community can accept Iran’s control of this critical energy choke point indefinitely. That would be a worse outcome than before the conflict.”

Fontaine also noted that Iran’s ten-point plan “reads like a wish list from before the war,” and Trump’s agreement on April 7 to use it as a basis for negotiations—despite just weeks earlier demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Trump’s extreme rhetoric sparks criticism: the world increasingly sees the U.S. as “insane and dangerous”

The New York Times pointed out that Trump’s shocking threat to “destroy Iranian civilization,” with his usual casual coldness, has become his preferred way of communication. Such extreme rhetoric, even including war crimes that could be defined under international law, was casually posted on Truth Social, alongside ads for bullet-shaped pens, patriotic hats, and dinners at Mar-a-Lago.

In the view of the President and his supporters, this is part of Trump’s chaotic negotiation style, aimed at forcing a self-directed conflict to end and persuading Tehran to open the strait. Some presidential advisors even believe Trump’s escalating rhetoric is a negotiation tactic, indicating he prefers to find a way out of war rather than actually launching devastating attacks.

However, this “impulsive and unpredictable” leadership style faces unprecedented scrutiny. Nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein said that even if threats are not carried out, such violent rhetoric damages America’s credibility as a negotiator and its international standing, causing the world to increasingly see the U.S. as “insane and dangerous,” rather than a “reliable partner.”

Criticism within the U.S. also rises. Right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson said the President’s Easter message “ruined the most sacred day of Christianity,” and called the behavior “disgusting on all levels.” He bluntly stated that threatening to use U.S. military power to destroy other nations’ civilian infrastructure is a “war crime, a moral crime against the American people.”

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent also posted on X: “Trump thinks he’s threatening Iran into destruction, but now America is at risk. If he tries to eradicate Iranian civilization, America will no longer be seen as a stabilizing force but as a chaos creator—that would effectively end our status as a superpower.” Even some Republican members of Congress, like Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, said they “hope and pray Trump is just bluffing.”

Despite previous “scripts”—where escalating threats led to some negotiated settlement and proclaimed victory—his continual escalation reveals frustration, as he has failed to meet his last deadline to bomb Iran’s infrastructure.